National Black Arts Festival is 20

Posted: Saturday, July 19, 2008

ATLANTA - Stephanie Hughley's 12th floor office at the new headquarters of the National Black Arts Festival has a stunning view of Atlanta, including the city's cultural standard: the High Museum of Art.

The vantage point reminds Hughley that she has arrived, and that the festival can claim the title of artistic institution after two decades of focusing on the music, film, dance, theatre, literature and humanities of people of African descent.

"People have always thought that it was important," said Hughley, who came back to the festival as executive producer in 1999 after a seven-year hiatus. "I think that now many more people think that it's significant as a part of the cultural landscape and an international voice."

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the National Black Arts Festival, which begins Friday and ends July 27, with events around the city. More than five million people have attended the festival since it began in 1988.

Among this year's highlights are a performance by Wynton Marsalis with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Oprah Winfrey's production of "The Color Purple"; a tribute to dancer Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre; a Pan-African film festival; and conversations with authors Alice Walker and Pearl Cleage.

Since its inception, the festival has featured an increasingly varied lineup and has attracted a more diverse audience, Hughley said.

"That's the beauty of culture," she said. "It's always being influenced and is influencing. I think the festival offers a safe environment to examine cultural connections and influences, provoking and inspiring self-reflection."

Though the official festival is a biennial, 10-day event, in recent years it has expanded to incorporate year-round programming. Earlier this month, the festival relocated from an obscure downtown location to a gleaming office tower in midtown.

From there, Hughley hopes it will continue to attract new audiences and funding so it can continue for another 20 years.